A firefighter and Lane Community College instructor has been helping out with the Holiday Farm Fire. As KLCC’s Brian Bull reports, Solomon Singer’s drone has made a difference.
Singer is an instructor in Unmanned Aerial Systems at LCC’s Aviation Academy. He’s licensed and gets FAA authorization before flying his drone in fire zones. When the smoke was really bad in early September, Singer’s drone came in handy.
“Drones can cut through the thickest smoke with infrared cameras, and see where the fire is, all the terrain and trees and features. We were able to actually spot a small fire up in the Little Fall Creek drainage area that nobody else knew about.”
Drones can also fly in conditions planes often can’t, without risk to an onboard crew. Singer says he could be called in again as crews keep gaining on the Holiday Farm Fire.
“I expect to potentially help when the fire’s fully contained, and they have need to make sure that the spot fires do not pass their lines.”
Singer emphasizes no one should operate drones in fire areas without clearance, as they could endanger lives and ground firefighting planes.
Copyright 2020, KLCC.
